Rep. John Duncan’s Final Comment on the House Floor: ‘Seek Peace and Pursue It’

Come the swearing in of members of the new United States Congress on January 3, Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN), who is one of the longest-serving Republican members of the House of Representatives and among the House’s strongest peace advocates, will be beginning his retirement from political office. Duncan spoke on the House floor in a short December 21 speech focused on the importance of ending US military intervention abroad. Quoting the Bible, Duncan concludes his final House floor speech with this advice: “seek peace and pursue it.”

Mr. Speaker, too many of our leaders today seem to want to be modern-day Winston Churchills and think of themselves as great war leaders. They are far too eager to go to war and far too willing to stay in a war after it has started. But the American people do not want permanent, forever wars, and especially do not need such wars.

I salute President Trump’s decision to bring our troops home from Syria. With a $21 trillion national debt, we simply cannot afford to be the policeman of the world.

Our very unnecessary wars in the Middle East have now cost us several trillion dollars that we have had to borrow and have resulted in the deaths or horrible injuries to thousands of young Americans and many more thousands of innocent women and children. They have created more enemies for our country around the world.

The Bible tells us in both the Old Testament and New to ‘seek peace and pursue it.’